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UNITED STAIES PATENT OFFIQE.

DANIEL FITZGERALD, OF NEIV YORK. N. Y.

MODE OF CONSTRUCTING PORTABLE HOUSES.

Speccation of Letters Patent No. 17,270, dated May 12, 1857.

17 o all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, DANIEL FITZGERALD, of New York, in the county and State oi' h'ew York, have invented a new Mode ot Jointing the Parts ot Roofs, Teatherboarding, &c., in Portable Houses; and I hereby declare that the following is a t'ull and exact description.

The nature of my invent-ion consists in so gil'ooving and tonguing all the parts that the house will be tight while at the saine time it can be easily taken apart and put together ag'ain without the use of nails.

To enable others to make and use my invention I proceed to describe the various matters in detail reference being had to the drawings hereunto annexed and making part of this specification.

Figure 1, front elevation otl a portable house made on this plan; Fig. 2, side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, plan of the same; Fig. 4, perspective of rafter to show the channelling; Fig, 5, section of roof to show its construction and perspective to show one of the portable portions of it; Fig. 6, transverse section ot` the girder; Fig. 7, the under side of the girder showing the channels and the springs; Fig. 8, longitudinal and vertical section ot the girder showing the springs in the channel (which is laid open) and the weather boarding, G, set in it.

In this style of house I make the posts and studs solid and channel them by machinery to receive the weather boarding and window and door frames. See Fig. 3. IVhcre the door frames are to be united with the sill, thespace of the door is cut out of the sill to the proper depth and one or more tenons left in the sides so that the frame channeled upon each side will set down flush and be held in place by the tenons.

Four girders are set on the tour sides of the house to sustain the floor of the second story. Then it is desirable to make these girders firm by supporting them with studs set beneath them, I channel them deeply on the. under side. The weather boarding eX- tends up into this channel as far as may be necessary to make up for subsequent shrinkage. In the channel I put strong springs which continually press upon the weather boarding and keep the joints close. Or if the springs are omitted I can torce down the weather boarding to close the joints. The rafters are channeled on the under side in like manner to receive the weather board ing.

The roof is made in sections for convenience of transportation. The shingles of anv upper section extend over the lower section.

The parts are grooved and tongued to gether as shown Fig. 5 and set in the side channels of the rafter. The rafters are setl solid upon the posts. They are channeled out beneath to receive the weather boarding, as are also the front and rear plates.`

that I claim as my invention and desire to secure by. Letters Patent is,

1. Uniting the roof in sections to render it portable in the manner substantially as above described.

2. Cutting down a space in the sill and tenoning each side so that the door frame will sit close down and be held firm, in the manner above described.

DANIEL FITZGERALD.

IVitnesses OWEN G. IVARREN, AZOR I-IoYT. 

